The production of iron oxide during peridotite serpentinization:Influence of pyroxene

Serpentinization produces molecular hydrogen(H2)that can support communities of microorganisms in hydrothermal fields;H2 results from the oxidation of ferrous iron in olivine and pyroxene into ferric iron,and consequently iron oxide(magnetite or hematite)forms.However,the mechanisms that control H2 and iron oxide formation are poorly constrained.In this study,we performed serpentinization experiments at 311℃ and 3.0 kbar on olivine(with <5% pyroxene),orthopyroxene,and peridotite.The results show that serpentine and iron oxide formed when olivine and orthopyroxene individually reacted with a saline starting solution.Olivine-derived serpentine had a significantly lower FeO content(6.57±1.30 wt.%)than primary olivine(9.86 wt.%),whereas orthopyroxene-derived serpentine had a comparable FeO content(6.26±0.58 wt.%)to that of primary orthopyroxene(6.24 wt.%).In experiments on peridotite,olivine was replaced by serpentine and iron oxide.However,pyroxene transformed solely to serpentine.After 20 days,olivine-derived serpentine had a FeO content of 8.18±1.56 wt.%,which was significantly higher than that of serpentine produced in olivine-only experiments.By contrast,serpentine after orthopyroxene had a slightly higher FeO content(6.53±1.01 wt.%)than primary orthopyroxene.Clinopyroxene-derived serpentine contained a significantly higher FeO content than its parent mineral.After 120 days,the FeO content of olivine-derived serpentine decreased significantly(5.71±0.35 wt.%),whereas the FeO content of orthopyroxene-derived serpentine increased(6.85±0.63 wt.%)over the same period.This suggests that iron oxide preferentially formed after olivine serpentinization.Pyroxene in peridotite gained some Fe from olivine during the serpentinization process,which may have led to a decrease in iron oxide production.The correlation between FeO content and SiO_2 or AI_2 O_3 content in olivine-and orthopyroxene-derived serpentine indicates that aluminum and silica greatly control the production of iron oxide.Based on our results and data from natural serpentinites reported by other workers,we propose that aluminum may be more influential at the early stages of peridotite serpentinization when the production of iron oxide is very low,whereas silica may have a greater control on iron oxide production during the late stages instead.

Source and magmatic evolution of ocean island basalts from the Pohnpei Island,Northwest Pacific Ocean:Insights from olivine geochemistry

The compositional variability of ocean island basalts(OIBs)is thought to reflect partial melting of a lithologicallyheterogeneous mantle source dominated by either pyroxenite or peridotite.The Pohnpei Island in Micronesia,which is associated with the Caroline hotspot,is suggested to have been generated from partial melting of a pyroxenite-rich mantle.To examine this hypothesis,we present new major-and trace-element compositions of olivine phenocrysts in basalts from the island.The olivines exhibit large systematic inter-and intra-crystalline compositional variability.In Sample DS1,olivines record compositional zonation,in which cores have relatively high Fo(77–85),Ni(550×10^(-6 )–2392×10^(-6 )),and Fe/Mn ratios(66–82),whereas rims have lower Fo(71–78),Ni(526×10^(-6 )–1537×10^(-6 )),and Fe/Mn ratios(51–62).By contrast,olivines within other samples preserve no clear compositional zonation,exhibiting similar or slightly lower Fo values(66–78),Ni contents(401×10^(-6 )–1268×10^(-6 )),and Fe/Mn ratios(53–69)as the rims of zoned crystals.The distinct chemical contrast between the two different types of olivine suggests they formed in magma chambers at different depths.Analysis using forward petrological modeling and multi-element indicators(Fe/Mn,Zn/Fe,FC3MS(FeO^(T)/CaO-(3×MgO/SiO^(2))),Mn/Zn,and Ni/(Mg/Fe))of whole-rock samples and high-Fo olivines is inconsistent with a pyroxenite-rich mantle source.We suggest these inconsistencies reflect an influence on the partition coefficients of Ni and Mn between olivine and liquid during melting at variable pressures and temperatures.In addition,magma recharge and mixing within the magmatic plumbing system can change the composition of olivine.We suggest that identification of the mantle source of OIBs in volcanic islands such as the Pohnpei Island using olivine geochemistry should be treated with caution.

Chemical composition and petrogenesis of plagioclases in plagioclase-phyric basalts from the Southwest Indian Ridge(51°E)

Electron microprobe analysis was conducted on plagioclase from the plagioclase ultraphyric basalts(PUBs)erupted on the Southwest Indian Ridge(SWIR)(51°E)to investigate the geochemical changes in order to better understand the magmatic processes occurring under ultraslow spreading ridges and to provide insights into the thermal and dynamic regimes of the magmatic reservoirs and conduit systems.The phenocryst cores are generally calcic(An74–82)and are depleted in FeO and MgO.Whereas the phenocryst rims(An67–71)and the plagioclase in the groundmass(An58–63)are more sodic and have higher FeO and MgO contents than the phenocryst cores.The crystallization temperatures of the phenocryst cores and the calculation of the equilibrium between the phenocrysts and the matrix suggest that the plagioclase cores are unlikely to have crystallized from the host basaltic melt,but are likely to have crystallized from a more calcic melt.The enrichment in incompatible elements(FeO and MgO),as well as the higher FeO/MgO ratios of the outermost phenocryst rims and the groundmass,are the result of plagioclase-melt disequilibrium diffusion during the short residence time in which the plagioclase crystallized.Our results indicate that an evolved melt replenishing under the SWIR(51°E)drives the eruption over a short period of time.